Princess Diana’s final words revealed by hero firefighter who gave her CPR

The "People's Princess" was killed nearly 20 years ago in a horrifying car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

She was being driven in a Mercedes S-280 after she left the Hotel Ritz before crashing into a pillar in the Pont De l’Alma tunnel.

Sgt Xavier Gourmelon was in charge of a medically-trained fire crew who were first on the scene.

A semi-conscious Diana apparently attempted to speak as she lay beside her lover Dodi Fayed in the back seat of the car.

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DEATH: Diana was killed in August 1997 after suffering serious injuries in a car crash in Paris

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FIREMEN: Xavier Gourmelon was one of the first on the scene and heard Diana's last words

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HORRIFYING: Princess Diana survived the initial crash but died hours later in hospital

“I held her hand and told her to be calm and keep still”

Firefighter

Sgt Gourmelon revealed she said: “My God – what’s happened?”

In his first newspaper interview, the Mr Gourmelon, 50, said he thought the Princess of Wales would survive the accident.

He said the 36-year-old was conscious as she was pulled from the wrecked car.

She then suffered a cardiac arrest as she was placed on to a stretcher.

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CRASH: The Princess of Wales, Dodi Fayed and Henri Paul were all involved in the crash

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DEATH: Diana had emergency treatment at a Paris hospital but died within a few hours

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Mr Gourmelon performed CPR but Lady Di tragically died in hospital hours later.

“The car was in a mess and we just dealt with it like any road accident. We got straight to work to see who needed help and who was alive,” Mr Gourmelon told the Sun.

He said: "The woman, who I later found out was Princess Diana, was on the floor in the back.

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"She was moving very slightly and I could see she was alive.

"I could see she had a slight injury to her right shoulder but, other than that, there was nothing significant. There was no blood on her at all.

"I held her hand and told her to be calm and keep still, I said I was there to help and reassured her. She said: 'My God, what's happened?'"

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ROYAL: The Princess had been in Paris following her divorce from Prince Charles

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Mr Gourmelon had only spoken publicly once before about the crash, via videolink during her inquest in 2007.

He added: “To be honest I thought she would live. As far as I knew when she was in the ambulance she was alive and I expected her to live. But I found out later she had died in hospital. It was very upsetting.

“I know now that there were serious internal injuries, but the whole episode is still very much in my mind. And the memory of that night will stay with me forever.”

After Diana was taken to the city’s Pitie-Salpetriere hospital, Xavier returned to the nearby fire station, where he was working a double weekend shift.

An official report said the princess had suffered massive internal injuries and a ruptured blood vessel next to her heart which was causing internal bleeding.

The princess, Dodi al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul all lost their lives after the crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in the early hours.

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